Recent Articles
Brandi Carlile, A Fine Frenzy live!
Brandi Carlile/A Fine Frenzy House Of Blues, Chicago Thursday, October 11, 2007 Kicking off a two-night stand at House Of Blues, ingénue Brandi Carlile enticed the rowdy crowd to put up or shut up when she veered dangerously close to the lip of the stage and belted out a chugging new tune, “How These Days […]
Interpol live!
Interpol Aragon Ballroom, Chicago Thursday, October 11, 2007 For the third time this year, Interpol visited Chicago with its haunting, atmospheric indie rock. Though it may seem like overkill, each setting and circumstance was remarkably diverse, from its Our Love To Admire prerelease publicity gig at the intimate Metro, to a co-headlining slot alongside Muse […]
Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster preview
Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster, Every Time I Die Riviera, Chicago Friday, October 19, 2007 Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster frontman Dallas Taylor used to hold down the same job for Underoath before leaving the group and forming Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster. Logic might say this was a bad move. Underoath […]
Gliss & Johnossi previews
Gliss/Johnossi Empty Bottle/Logan Square Auditorium Friday, October 19, 2007 One might suggest , looking at this week’s docket in Chicago, going to New York for the annual CMJ New Music Marathon isn’t worth it. Especially when two of the hottest new bands are in the Windy City on the same night.
Chiodos preview
Chiodos House Of Blues, Chicago Sunday, August 21, 2007 Much like Fall Out Boy, Chiodos have built an unprecedented following without much help from the mainstream. Working the Warped stages and dozens of smaller circuits are paying off. But also like Fall Out Boy, they aren’t getting much respect in the process.
Rogue Wave preview
Rogue Wave Double Door, Chicago Wednesday, October 24, 2007 It isn’t hard to tell why Rogue Wave’s atmospheric pop often finds a home in the background of Hollywood movies and on prime-time television. Frontman Zach Rogue’s soothing vocals inject scenes with mood and weight without ever pushing actors from the forefront. That’s not to say […]
The Coral reviewed
The Coral Roots And Echoes (Columbia/Red Ink) When The Coral emerged from the garage rock onslaught of 2001, the influences they boasted made their future sound as colorful and vast as their namesake. Just hearing the words “Captain Beefheart” provided refuge amid a sea of bands prepared to blurt “Iggy! MC5!”
Stateless reviewed
Stateless Stateless (K7) If hard times are the sister of vibrant new music, then it shouldn’t be too hard explaining Stateless.
Gene Watson reviewed
Gene Watson In A Perfect World (Shanachie) Country veteran Gene Watson has emerged from his gospel era intact, entering a new relationship with Shanachie Records as a back-to-basics man.
Patrick Wolf live!
Patrick Wolf Metro, Chicago Tuesday, October 9, 2007 If he so chose, Patrick Wolf could probably get by on spectacle alone. Maybe on just his fans. One curiously dressed attendee donned a silver-sequined frock while another, sporting homeless chic, tapped away on an iPhone. Somehow the South London prodigy retains the headliner status at his […]
Beirut live!
Beirut Portage Theater, Chicago Thursday, October 4, 2007 Rock ‘n’ roll is a young man’s game, but what about European folk? For 75 minutes on Thursday night, 21-year-old Zach Condon led his Beirut on a pseudo-Old World tour with a bandleader presence that approached James Brown.
Liars preview
Liars Aragon, Chicago Thursday, October 11, 2007 During a post-millennial upsurge in one-word band names, “Liars” seemed as innocuous as any other. In retrospect it looks like a plan.
Kasey Anderson preview
Kasey Anderson Wise Fools Pub, Chicago Thursday, October 11, 2007 Without ever uttering the words “war,” “Iraq,” “president,” “Bush,” “Cheney,” “terrorism,” “Afghanistan,” “bomb,” or “impeach,” Kasey Anderson might have penned the most powerful anti-Dubya anthem yet in “The Reckoning.”
Brenda Weiler preview
Brenda Weiler Uncommon Ground, Chicago Saturday, October 13, 2007 On End The Rain (Speaker Phone), singer-songwriter Brenda Weiler grapples with her older sister’s 2005 suicide. Placed on the album in the order they were written, the 11 songs plaintively detail Weiler’s thought process throughout this tumultuous time.
Sea Wolf preview
Sea Wolf Schubas, Chicago Saturday, October 13, 2007 To revive a particularly crude analogy, a college friend of mine once speculated his girlfriend’s roommate had a mouth like a “velvet purse.” At odds with this theory was the girl in question was not so plush and silky.
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